Bessemer, AL Animal Ordinances: Chickens & Livestock (2026)

Section 14-14 of Chapter 14, titled 'Keeping of fowl or animals,' sets the core setback for backyard poultry: no fowl, chickens or rabbits may be kept within 30 feet of a dwelling house or within 12 feet of a lot line, unless the keeper has a permit from the county health department. That permit requirement means a resident wanting to keep chickens closer than those distances must apply to the county, not the city, before doing so. Section 14-15 layers on a separate city license for anyone raising or breeding poultry, pigeons, rabbits, hares or guinea pigs, whether commercially or not, with the application stating the number and kind of animals and the location where they'll be kept.

Section 14-16 then requires anyone raising poultry or animals, commercial or otherwise, to keep them clean, sanitary and free of obnoxious odors at all times. A separate, broader limit sits in Section 14-23: no animal of any kind may be kept on a lot smaller than 10,000 square feet, though the section carves out small household pets such as dogs and cats, and animals kept for a commercial use that's lawful under the zoning ordinance. Because Sections 14-14 and 14-23 both apply, a chicken keeper on a small urban lot in Bessemer has to satisfy the setback-and-permit rule and the 10,000-square-foot minimum lot size unless the pet exemption or a lawful commercial zoning use applies.